Smoothies & Sandcastles
by Sonic Boom RP
Summary: An exclusive story brought to you by the roleplayers of Sonic Boom Roleplay! Pairings: Auslly and Trez. It's kind of hard to summarize this story...let's just say that it's very shipper-y.


**Hey! ****Ally/fitzherbertfangirl here! So here's a really long one-shot me and my partners wrote. :) basically, the night after Diners & Daters Trish wanted a smoothie for some reason, I can't remember why, so Austin and I made smoothies and we went down to the beach to talk about the day...we needed some 'team time.' It turned into a lot of Trez...I guess this had been building, Dez has been crushing on a taco cart hippie girl, Riverbed, for awhile and Trish has been jealous, of course! There's a ton of Auslly in this too :) and if it seems a little strung out in places, just remember this is four different writers with four different perspectives, trying to make it all flow as best we can. And this is compiled from a bunch of Tumblr posts and blended together. :)**

**Smoothies & Sand Castles**

**A Sonic Boom Roleplay story**

The beach was about a ten minute walk from the mall, about five minutes through the city then down steep stairs to a thinly populated strip of deep sand. The moon was bright, the sky was starless, the streetlights were far away. Ally, her arms full of smoothies, closed her eyes briefly and breathed in the salty air. How romantic it all was! Moonlight, the sea, the sand...she just drank in the poetry of it all. Even though Dez was chasing seagulls loudly and Trish was running after him, yelling admonishments.

She opened her eyes again slowly, beginning to pass out her and Austin's fruity creations.

"Trish, was it...banana pineapple you and Dez wanted?"

"Yup. Thanks for this, Ally." Trish took a grateful slurp.

"No! ALLY. It was pineapple banana!" Dez shrieked.

Ally blinked. "Dez, you're messing up the moment's serenity."

"I am not! I'm the peaceful Love Whisperer—"

"Dez!"

He just shrugged. Ally turned away and handed Austin his strawberry-banana smoothie. Smiling, she sipped her own peaches-and-cream creation and slipped off her flip-flops, holding them in one hand as the foursome started strolling.

"So..." Ally ventured after a minute or so of quiet. (Miracle, really.) "The last couple of days were...interesting, huh guys?"

Dez slurped his smoothie and Ally furrowed her brows at him, "What? I'm showing my appreciation for the delicious beverage that you made for us!" He then proceeded to drink his smoothie again, Trish rolling her eyes at him as she drank her own smoothie.

Austin let out a laugh, "Interesting was an understatement: I got my first job ever so I could impress the first girl I've ever crushed on. Then I found out she was moving…" Ally smiled softly at him and placed a sympathetic hand on his arm. Austin returned her smile and lightly squeezed the hand that was resting on his arm.

"I became addicted to chicken pot pies," Dez said casually, "but I went to a shrink and she really helped me get through it."

"Dez, that shrink was me."

"I know, but you worked wonders!"

"I called Dez Dezzy-poo." Trish shuddered. Dez laughed then frowned. "Yeah. That was weird."

Then Trish mumbled something that almost no one heard. "And I actually was friendly with Dez for awhile…that alien actually helped." Dez smiled at his feet because he was the only one who heard her.

"What Trish?" Austin and Ally said at the same time. Austin smiled hugely and looked at Ally.

"JINX! Knock on wood! Now I need to find wood!"

Ally rolled her eyes. "Austin, later, later."

He smirked and moaned, "_OOOKAY_."

They kept walking. Trish kept letting the thought of her slip-up roll into her head cause a blush to creep on to her face. Then the thought got crushed by Riverbed in her head.

She literally became so angry that she stopped and growled, smashing the smoothie in her hand.

Everyone turned to look at her as if she was crazy.

"Gee Trish, if you didn't like your smoothie you could of just said so," Ally said, now getting anxious about the mess. The smoothie was dripping off Trish's hand and getting all over the sand on the beach, ruining Ally's perfect moment yet again. "I'll go get napkins."

"No, Ally." Trish said, reaching over to throw her cup away in a nearby trash can. "It was an accident. I've been, uh, working out my hands. I forgot their own strength." Trish flexed her thumbs before realizing how ridiculous she looked.

"Well, okay…" Ally was skeptical of Trish's explanation, "but I'm still going to get napkins. Look at all the smoothie on the ground!" Ally turned to get napkins, but Austin grabbed her arm gently to stop her.

"Oh no you don't. Come on Ally, it's just fruit mush. Why should we deprive the ants of a wonderful feast?" Ally looked at Austin and then at the mess, still troubled. "This walk was your idea Ally, relax and enjoy it." he moved his hand from gripping her arm to casually hanging around her neck and started walking again, pulling her along. "Describe the things you feel, just like you told me!" He smiled at her and Ally rolled her eyes, but grinned slightly.

"Well, I feel the cool breeze and the prickly mist of the ocean," Ally closed her eyes and breathed in. "And the salty air, and well, you next to me, Austin." she looked up at him and smiled as she blushed slightly. "Okay, I don't have to clean guys, you're right."

"Personally," Dez interjected, "I feel the perfect chance to build a sand castle! Or even a sand space ship! I'm going to get wet sand!" Dez ran straight toward the ocean, seeming to forget he was wearing full pants.

"Come back here, dork, you've got pants on!" Trish yelled.

"So?" Dez shrugged. "This is fun! Isn't that why we're down here, anyway?"

"More or less," Ally said. "There were also those 'talk about your feelings' and 'relax' elements, but it's good, Dez." She laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, so on and so forth. We already did that. Come help me, guys!"

Austin, Ally, and Trish reluctantly walked up to the lump of wet sand Dez was working furiously on.

"Sit, Ally," Austin said, patting a spot between him and Trish on the sand, looking awkwardly up at her figure towering over the other three.

Ally frowned. "I'm not your dog, Austin. And there is no way I'm sitting on the sand and getting it all over my clothes."

"Come on, you know you want tooooooo..." Trish said temptingly.

"This is like one of my favorite skirts! Not happening." Ally crossed her arms.

"Ally, you have like fifty 'favorite skirts.'" Dez informed her.

Ally rolled her eyes. Trish looked at Austin for help, mouthing jacket? Austin shook his head, gesturing to his T-shirt. Trish turned her eyes to Dez, who did in fact have another layer on.

"Give me your jacket, Dez." Trish ordered.

"Why? I like this jacket! Are you cold?" Dez questioned, already taking it off.

"No, I'm not cold. And I wouldn't wear...never mind. It's for Ally to sit on."

Dez shrugged and went back to work. Ally sat down carefully by them.

"You guys know what I did today? I don't think I ever exactly took a turn." Ally's expression was suddenly troubled.

"Let's see," Austin said lightly. "Ate a lot of chicken pot pie, wrote an...interesting unfinished song with my badly expressed feelings. Then you wrote an AMAZING song with my better-expressed feelings! Those are just highlights."

Ally smiled at him softly. "But when we were in the Melody Diner and we were fighting..." Ally suddenly looked paler in the moonlight. "People were watching and cheering us and stuff."

"Your point, Ally?" Austin asked.

She raised her troubled eyes to Austin, then to Trish and Dez. "I sang in front of people. I—I thought I couldn't do that."

Dez stopped playing with his wet sand and threw a grin in Ally's direction. Trish smiled as well, reached behind Austin, and rubbed her back in a way that said, _"I'm proud of you."_

Austin looked at Ally. "Wow, I hadn't even noticed that you were singing in public when we were arguing… that's amazing, Ally." he said as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him in a side-hug.

Ally smiled into his embrace. "I guess I hadn't noticed the people around us with all the craziness going on. And the fact that I was angry with you for blaming me for the fact that you can't express your feelings!" she said, booping at his nose with her finger for emphasis.

"Hey! I apologized for that missy!" Austin said, booping her nose back.

Trish jumped in, ruining any possible moment between the two. "KISS." she coughed nonchalantly. "KISS."

Austin and Ally turned away from each other, both blushing profusely.

"Trish, you're ridiculous. Quit trying to get back at us." Austin said, glaring at Trish.

Dez was focused on his sand castle and didn't seem to be listening, but then out of nowhere he jumped in. "I don't think she is getting back at you. I think she is just seeing what you guys refuse to see right in front of each other."

Everyone stopped and stared at Dez with wide eyes.

He looked up and his goofy smile came on his face. "What? I do that too. One time I refused to believe there was a door in front of me and I ran into it." …and the deepness was gone.

They all started laughing at the thought of Dez running head-first into a door.

"Dez, sometimes I worry about you." Ally stated, flicking some sand off the jacket she was sitting on.

They all started laughing again.

"Wh-what's so funny?" Dez asked while laughing, but just laughing along—he didn't get his own joke because it wasn't a joke to him.

"You are." Ally said through chuckles as Austin patted his best bud on the back.

"You're just such a whackadoodle." Trish said, rolling her eyes while smiling.

"Thanks Trishy-roo." Dez teased sticking his tongue out. Austin and Ally laughed as Trish's face turned red and she growled.

Trish picked up a handful of dense, wet sand. "What did you just call me?"

Dez covered his face in surrender "Uh uh uh amazing and beautiful?" He spoke quickly throwing out words he thought would save his face.

Trish stared at him like he was insane, while secretly glowing inside—even though she knew Dez was just trying not to get harmed. Austin laughed as Ally sang "Oooooh. Who's not seeing what's in front of them?"

"Shut up.." Trish mumbled angrily as she looked back toward the castle. Dez sighed in relief as he was able to safely uncover his face.

Austin laughed at his two friends and smiled as he felt the nice summer breeze hit his face.

"Hey, you guys wanna go in the water?" he asked.

"Do you really think it's such a good idea to go in the water so late at night? We don't even have the proper swimwear on!" Ally berated.

"Then we can walk by the shore line without our shoes on! You won't get a speck of water anywhere near your favorite skirt, okay?" Austin teased as he began to remove his footwear.

"Well, okay. But if you get anything above my ankles wet consider yourself without a new song for the next month!" Ally threatened, her tiny finger wiggling in Austin's face as she moved to remove her sandals.

Austin grinned, "Dez, you coming?"

"Nah, I feel like burying myself next to my sandcastle… just like a good king should." Dez said while smiling fondly to his sandcastle.

"Trish, what about you?"

"Hmm, stay here and bury Dez and make sure he never gets out or walk with you and Ally as you two hold hands and I linger behind like a third wheel? I think I'll stay with ye old whackadoodle." Trish responded, patting the sand beside her for emphasis.

Ally blushed at Trish's words but Austin just rolled his eyes and stood up. He reached his hand so Ally could grab it and pulled her up.

"You gonna be okay buddy?" Austin asked Dez who had already begun digging himself into the sand.

"Yeah, you go walk by the ocean… I'll take care of my domain."

Ally walked down to the water hand in hand with Austin a little self-consciously. She couldn't tell if Trish's hinting at something between her and Austin was revenge for all the heck Ally gave Trish about Dez, or she meant something by it. It was probably a mix of the two. Whatever she was implying, it's not true, Ally protested to herself stoutly. I know we hold hands and hug a lot, but we're just huggers and close friends. It doesn't mean a thing...right?

"OHHHH that's COLD!" Ally exclaimed suddenly. She hadn't realized she was ankle deep in saltwater, waves lapping around her and Austin's bare calves.

"It's not that bad, Al, come on," Austin said, chuckling.

"But it is—oh my gosh, it is. Okay I'm not trying to be a drama queen but this isn't fun it's cold, I better walk back—"

"Hushhhhhh." Austin said in exasperation, head spinning from Ally's rant. "Oh, Ally, don't leave yet." He offered her his back and she clambered on, wrapping her arms around his shoulders to hold on.

"Thanks." Ally mumbled, a little embarrassed by her cop out.

"Welcome." Austin must have sensed her mood shift. "Ally, it's okay. Sometimes I just feel sorry for you, it's like all you do is get your feet wet. You never just let go and dive in."

Ally's grip tightened around him. "I'm—I'm sorry I'm no fun. I was just born with some of it, I guess, but when Mom died..." Ally tried hard to swallow the lump in her throat. "I guess you should know." She slipped off Austin's back and splashed into the water again, facing him. "I was almost ten. Sonic Boom had just open so my dad and I were low on money—Mom was a lawyer—and all of a sudden, I took her place." Ally sighed shakily, trying hard not to let any tears fall. She didn't even feel like crying. All the emotions from today built up inside her—fighting with Austin, watching him fall for a gorgeous, flawless girl—so unlike Ally—and all that chicken pot pie, now her mom...Ally blinked again, hard.

"I was cleaning the house and helping Dad keep track of bills and maintenance and cooking. I'm sure I'd still be an awkward dork if she was still here, but I'm just tightly would from holding our family together." Ally twiddled her thumbs and cast her eyes up to Austin shyly. "I'm glad we took this smoothie walk, though. It's—it's nice to talk."

"Ally, I know I'm not the best person to talk 'feelings' about…but you're one of my best friends. I'm always going to be here to listen to you and talk to when you need it." Austin told her, his hand resting on her shoulder in a comforting manner.

Ally gave him a small smile. "Thank you Austin. You're awesome."

Austin smiled softly at Ally, the hand that was rubbing her shoulder going down her arm and then lightly grasping her hand. For a moment, Austin traced circles on the hand he held before quickly reaching down and flicking water on Ally's face. Ally gasped in surprise, "Austin!"

"What? Scared of a little water? Come on Ally-gator!" Austin laughed as he pulled Ally around by the hand and continued to flick water on Ally. Ally shrieked as each droplet of water hit her and tried to shield her face from the water attack.

Ally's shrieks turned into laughter as Austin placed his arms under her legs and picked her up. Her arms went around his neck so he wouldn't drop her on the waves and her head lightly tilted back as she laughed at the feeling of being twirled around in Austin's arms.

"You know what, Austin?" Ally said happily.

"What?" Austin asked, giddy.

"I'm going to do it. I think I'll dive in, just this once. For both of us." She squirmed out of his arms and he set her down.

Austin grinned. "Your skirt?"

"It's cotton, it'll be fine…" Ally said, obviously trying to convince herself.

"YAAAY ALLY!" Austin cheered. He gestured to the water. "After you, miss."

For a moment she looked out at the enormous sea, the waves, the foam, and wavered just a little. But before Ally could talk herself out of it, she waded deeper, scrunched up her face, and dove into the cold ocean.

Austin whooped and clapped, "Yeah Ally!" as Ally dived into the sea. He followed her lead and plunged into the water after her. Underneath it he could see Ally, her eyes closed and her legs and arms moving in all different directions as she tried to adjust to the feeling of being underwater. He grinned as he noticed her curly brown hair circle around her face. He followed her lead again as she swam back up.

"It's fr-fr-freezing!" she shivered, her arms wrapping around herself, as Austin submerged.

Austin pushed his wet hair back and laughed at her shivering form. He walked closer to Ally and hugged her close. "Ally, I'm so proud of you! You took the plunge and dived in!"

Ally gave him a smile. "I-It def-inetly wasn't ea-e-easy!" she shivered as she wrapped her arms around Austin and rested her head on his wet chest in an attempt to warm her body up a little bit.

Austin smiled into her wet hair and brushed a hand through it. "But you did it anyways and I'm so proud of you." He smiled down at where she was resting on his chest and Ally couldn't help but return the smile.

"It's not so scary when you're right there behind me." Ally responded quietly as she rested her head back on Austin's chest and closed her eyes; trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. She found it funny that it seemed to beat at the same rhythm as Austin's.

~meanwhile on the beach~

Trish was just sitting on the beach with her face on her knees staring out at the dark ocean as it came in on the shore and retreated again. Dez was busy digging a hole to put himself in.

"Trish! You could HELP me here! This isn't easy to do by myself." Dez grunted digging out more sand with his hands.

Trish looked over at him and rolled her eyes. "Why do you want to bury yourself anyway you whack-a-doodle?"

"Becauseee. Otherwise the evil sand monsters will come and destroy my sand castle and I need to be here to protect it." He said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Whatever you say." She started helping him dig the hole with her hands. Suddenly she stopped, took a clump of wet sand in her hand and threw it at Dez. It landed right on his head making her start laughing.

"Heeeey!" Dez whined as he blinked sand out of his eyes. He made a point of shaking his head in such a way that sand would get all over Trish. He then laughed as Trish's jaw dropped open.

"You're going to wish you hadn't done that, Freckles." Trish laughed and began digging faster and faster, throwing all the loose sand in Dez's direction.

Dez laughed and threw his hands in the air. "I surrender, I surrender! Take my castle, for you are mightier than I."

"Seems fair." Trish responded, swapping tormenting Dez for his precious creation.

"But you have to still help me bury myself." Dez responded, making sure this indeed was a fair deal.

"Duh, the only reason I'm here in the first place." Trish said, rolling her eyes as they both proceeded to dig. As they dug Dez slowed and stopped, staring out into the ocean with a dreamy look on his face, submerged in his own little world.

Before he knew what was happening he was face up with the sky in his view. Trish had grabbed him and flipped him so he was laying in the hole.

"Ow, Trish, not so rough." He said, trying to rub his head, with the hand still held down by Trish's.

"I said your name like, 8 times! So I just flipped you in the hole." Trish said, slightly annoyed. She was still holding both his arms down and her hair was in his face.

"Okay okay! Get off me Trish, I don't want to eat your hair!" Dez started blowing at her hair to keep it away from him.

She shook her hair in his face and then let go. "Oh whatever, just stop moving!"

"Bury me!" He said happily.

"Okay!" Trish laughed, as she started picking up what was left of his sandcastle and dumping it on top of him.

"Wait! Trish!" He yelled out suddenly.

"What?" She whined. She was having fun burying him.

"Hold my phone." He wiggled and pulled it out of his pocket and handing it to her.

"Got it!" She took the phone and stuck it in her pocket, and continued to bury him, while he had a cheeky smile on his face.

As Trish buried Dez, he began to think out loud. "Hey Trish, you know how earlier you asked if Riverbed had asked me out?"

Trish paused for a moment, not sure if she wanted to get on this topic at the moment, and then continued to bury Dez without looking at him "Uh, vaguely, why?"

"Well…she didn't." Dez responded, closing his eyes tight as sand flew by his face.

"Oh?" Trish was now intrigued. "That's a shame freckles, but if you just wait a lit—"

"I asked her!" Dez's face brightened up as he exclaimed with delight, obviously the only response he could have received from Riverbed was a 'yes'. "I mean, I know you said I'd scare her off and she'd run away screaming and no girl could ever like me, but I just couldn't wait any longer!" As Dez spoke rapidly without even taking time to breath, Trish began packing sand around him more aggressively, trying to let the anger out of her subtly as opposed to letting it boil inside. "She's so great you know? And you'll never guess, but she said yes!" Dez continued to rattle on about his… now girlfriend's? greatness.

Silence took over immediately. Dez was expecting a snide remark at the least from Trish about what a terrible person Riverbed was, or at least a "Good for you, Freckles."

Instead all that was heard was the ocean and every now and then a smacking sound as Trish pushed more sand onto Dez.

Trish wasn't saying anything because she was afraid of what would happen if she did. There was a storm building up in her stomach. All she felt was pain. When he mentioned what he did her stomach had instantly dropped.

She was grateful for the darkness so he wouldn't see her face, which was now flushed bright red. She could feel the heat rising. Finally Dez spoke.

"Are you okay, Trish? I thought you would be happy for the fact that I got a girlfriend! Now I won't bother you as much." He lifted his head as much as he could, which wasn't much due to the sand packed around his neck, to try and look at her.

Trish took a deep breath. "I'm fine Freckles, why do you ask?" her voice cracked at the question and she wanted to hit herself for sounding weak.

Dez could tell something wasn't right, even though he couldn't see her face. Her voice was not normal and she was being extremely quiet. He tried to move so he could sit up.

"Quit moving! You are going to ruin what I'm doing!" Trish yelled, much more harsh than it should have been.

Dez froze and let her fix the cracks, wincing at how hard she was packing it in now.

He became nervous at Trish's silence. It was starting to upset him, he really though Trish would be happy for him. He thought they were friends now. He thought that maybe, just maybe, Trish cared a bit about him. As Austin became closer to Ally, leaving him in this hole by himself, Dez started to think that maybe Trish would help him. But all she was doing was trapping him more than he thought he'd be. After a minute he spoke really quietly "I bet if you really tried you'd like her…"

Trish tried to stay calm, but failed after only a second—this whole situation was preparing her to explode. "I AM TRYING, DEZ! I'm trying harder than you would believe! But it's impossible! She's just so…weird."

"Like me." Dez interjected, but Trish ignored him.

"And says these stupid things."

"Like me."

"And I'd be way too embarrassed to even let people think I like her."

"Like me." Dez responded to that more quietly than the previous, more upset.

Trish stood up suddenly. "Will you stop trying to place the guilt card on me? I CAN'T TAKE THIS." She stepped back and started kicking sand as hard as she could.

Dez turned his face away so that it wouldn't get in his face. "You can't take what, Trish?"

She froze and looked at him as if she had forgotten he was there. Then she started yelling at him. "I CAN'T TAKE THE FACT THAT I—" she stopped herself. "_I CAN'T BE FRIENDS WITH SUCH AN IDIOT_." She could feel the swelling under her eyes, and before she could stop it the tears started pouring out. Luckily Dez couldn't see it because the moon was behind the clouds and it was completely dark at that moment.

It got really quiet and then Dez's sudden breath broke the silence. "I know you think I'm an idiot but what does that really have to do with the situation?" His voice was a pitch higher than normal.

"You. Are. The. Most. Despicable. Person. I. Know." She growled between her teeth as she started wiping the tears off her face.

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. Dez didn't understand what he had done. He didn't really have a filter, but he never said or did anything despicable, did he? What about when he closed Sonic Boom for her? Or when he bought her hot chocolate and went to the arcade with her in the middle of the night? Trish doesn't care about those times, though, she won't even tell anyone about them. He guessed they really weren't friends. He and Trish weren't friends… Ouch. His eyes watered, but he tried not to release any tears, since his arms were buried beneath him and he wouldn't be able to wipe them away.

"You know what, Trish!" Dez yelled, finally exploding himself, "I was REALLY convinced that deep inside that mean and nasty exterior there was something really nice and beautiful waiting to break out! And I've been working REALLY hard to see the good in you! But I guess I was wrong! You're just filled with hate. Now I see why that Cal guy cheated on you!" Dez instantly wanted to take that back. He could hear Trish let out a whimper of a sob in the darkness. "Trish, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say… I didn't mean it." He tried to reach out to her but was buried too well in the sand.

Trish covered her mouth and the tears pooled up on her hand. "I know what I just said was wrong, but that was beyond believable. And I thought you were the nice one out of us two."

"Trish…I shouldn't—" Dez started.

"No. If you can say something like that, so can I. You are just, you are the biggest freak out of them all. Probably the biggest loser in Miami. The biggest loser in the world. The fact that I ever met you, it has just made my life overall worse. I could be the happiest person right now, and it would have been because I never met you." She took in a shaky breath and looked towards him finally. The moon came out from the clouds just in time for her to see his face scrunched in pain.

"I didn't realize I was such a problem in your life." He said, as an unwanted tear fell from his eye.

For some reason, seeing Dez upset just made Trish boil in anger more. "Well, it does. My life was perfect before you came into it. Even if it was just Austin it would have been better."

Dez looked at the short girl with the tear stained cheeks and an angry stance. "Yeah, like you make my life better…you are like—you are like another Mindy in my life and she was bad enough when it was just her." He let out quietly, but extremely aggressive.

"Well. At least. Mindy. Likes. You." Trish replied, emphasizing each word separately with as much anger as she could possibly convey. She was being compared to Mindy? How much more could Dez demean her before the tide comes it? More tears ran freely down her face. "Maybe you'll get married someday and have horrible ugly little ginger children with horrible taste in clothes who say horrible things. Or maybe you'll marry your precious Riverbed and have freakish dirty freckled children who say freakish things and freak everyone out and no one will want to play with them."

Dez was getting overwhelmed by the abuse, both coming from Trish and leaving his own mouth. He didn't have the energy or the will power to say anything else mean, and the more he saw Trish cry the more he wanted to. He'd never been in an actual fight before, not even with Trish. "Just leave me alone, Trish." he responded, trying his best to sound strong, but is voice kept cracking as he spoke through the sob stuck in his throat. His head was throbbing from being so overwhelmed, this needed to stop.

That might have hurt Trish the most. She always said that to Dez, but never had she heard Dez say that to her. She guessed the feeling was mutual, then. Dez didn't want her around anymore than she wanted him around, so she told herself. "FINE!" she yelled "Works for me! Don't worry, I'll never waste another breath talking to you AGAIN!"

At that, she turned on her heel and stormed off down the beach, leaving Dez trapped in the sand.

About half-way down the beach she saw Austin and Ally in what seemed to be a very warm embrace.

She stormed towards them, tears still streaming down her face.

"Ally…ALLY…" She yelled quietly between gasps for air. Ally pulled away from Austin quickly and looked at Trish.

"Oh gosh Trish, what happened?" She walked up to Trish and wrapped her arms around her friend who returned the act.

Austin looked at them confused. "Where's Dez…?"

Trish pulled away and looked at Austin. "You may want to go pull that freak out of the sand because I'm sure as heck not helping him. And trust me, I am never speaking to him again."

Austin raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He exchanged a look with Ally, who looked shocked, and said "But I thought you guys were getting along better. Dez said that you guys were friends—"

"Well he was wrong!" Trish yelled at him and Austin flinched at her tone.

Ally placed a hand on her best friends shoulder. "Come on, let's take a walk and try to alleviate ourselves." Ally said, trying to calm Trish down.

Austin watched the pair walk away before turning his attention to his red haired best friend. He was buried in the sand, his head thrown back and his eyes closed tightly.

Austin walked up to his friend and kneeled down beside him. "Dez, are you okay?"

"What? What? Who's there? I can't see anything! Are you an alien? I promise I don't taste good! Trust me, I've tried!" Dez responded in a panic, thrashing his head around in all directions.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down Dez!" Austin grabbed Dez's head to stop him from moving and then carefully wiped the wet sand caked around his eyes. Had Dez been crying or was the sand just wet when it hit him? As Dez was able to open his eyes Austin smiled and said "See, it's just me, buddy!"

"Austin!" Dez's face lit up! "Boy am I glad to see you! I thought I was going to end up like Statue Guy, only unwillingly and covered in sand!" Dez looked around as best he could. "Where's Ally?"

Before Austin could answer the high tide licked his heels. Uh oh, if the waves reached Dez it would be almost impossible to get him out. "You're not out of the woods just yet, but don't worry—I'll get you out of here!" Austin began digging around his friend as fast as possible.

"Wait- why are you digging me out? I'm supposed to be protecting my kingdom!" Dez exclaimed, shifting in the sand to knock Austin's hands away from digging him out.

"Dez!" Austin exclaimed at Dez's jerking movements— "you're not going to be able to protect your kingdom at all if I don't get you out now. Look, the tide is getting higher!" Austin responded, his hands working furiously to remove the sand entrapping his friend.

Dez's head sparked up, suddenly realizing that the water was closer than it was before. "Well get to it man! I wasn't meant to be a merman!"

Austin worked as hard as he could to get the sand off of his best friend. He had to pinch Dez a couple of times to get him to stop shifting from side to side. Finally, Dez's arms became free and he sat up the best he could to dig up his upper body and Austin worked on the sand covering his legs. Dez shrieked and sprung up the moment he saw another wave come closer to him. The water covered Austin and Dez's feet as well as the sandcastle nearby.

"Whoo, that was close! Sorry that your sandcastle didn't make it, buddy." Austin said sympathetically.

"My kingdom! I'm sorry I couldn't protect you!" Dez exclaimed, his head downcast as he looked somberly at his destroyed castle.

There was a moment of silence shared between the two friends for Dez's fallen castle before Austin turned to Dez, "Dude, what happened with Trish?"

"Oh." Dez dropped immediately on his bum, legs spread out. A wave came over him and soaked his entire lower body. Austin sat beside Dez, hugging his knees. Neither of them minded the salt water. "What always happens."

"No, this was different." Austin said, trying to lead his friend towards opening up. "You guys always argue, but I thought you said you guys were friends."

"I—I thought we were!" Dez responded, confused and upset.

"She was crying, Dez…" Austin said gently, not wanting to upset Dez, but really wanting to get to the bottom of this.

Dez cringed, squeezing his eyes shut. "Yeah, I did something really stupid, Austin, like, stupider than normal." Austin placed a hand on his friend's shoulder as another wave washed over them.

Dez sighed. "Well, at first everything was normal, and we were throwing sand at each other and she was helping me dig, and then I told her about Riverbed, and instead of her getting happy like we thought she would be, she got really quiet… And then she started yelling. And yelling and yelling and yelling about how much she hates me and how better her life would be without me. And then she called me despicable, so...so I said that she deserved what that Cal guy did to her…" Dez looked away from his kind role-model best friend, feeling ashamed and full of regret.

"Aw Dez," Austin shook his head, "that was a really harsh thing to say."

"I know, I know. But come on, Trish is always insulting me and no one says anything about it!" Dez complained as he crossed his arms.

"But you always insult her back and bicker like an old married couple. Bringing up Cal—"

"I didn't mean to, okay!" Dez exclaimed as he cut Austin off.

Austin became silent. Dez was an easily wound up person and became emotional over the simplest things, from the sun going down to his gingerbread family being eaten. As his best friend, however, he knew when Dez's emotional outbursts were in need of some serious best friend therapy. This was one of those times.

Dez sighed, "I really thought she'd be happy that I got Riverbed to be my girlfriend but then she just starts yelling at me. I'm used to her calling me stupid but she'd never told me I was despicable or that her life was better off without me. It really hurt."

Austin gave him a sympathetic frown and Dez continued, "I really thought we were becoming friends. I guess it was stupid of me to think that we would ever be as good of friends as you and Ally are."

Austin looked at him confused, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"You know, Austin." Dez said, sure that indeed his best friend must have noticed.

"Um, I'm pretty sure I don't." Austin responded, still very confused. "Dez… are you jealous of Ally?"

"No, I'm not jealous!" Dez replied, raising his voice defensively.

"Okay, okay, sorry. But then, what does she have to do with this?" Austin felt a sickly pit in his stomach thinking that his longest lasting best friend might not get along with his newest best friend.

"Well, it's just, before we met them it was you and me versus the world! We were Axe-man and Deztronaut!" Austin laughed, thinking of their super hero movie they made when they were little. "But when we met Ally and Trish, it started to be more just… Austin Moon. You and Ally started hanging out a lot and getting really close, and Ally's a really great person. A little dorky, but she's done a lot for you. Like, you wouldn't be famous without her songs! It's just, when you guys are together, I'm alone." Dez looked down, sort of embarrassed. "You're kind of my only friend."

"Dez, I had no idea you felt this way. You know you're always welcome to hang out with me and Ally." Austin said, pushing Dez's shoulder in a friendly manner.

Dez chuckled and picked at the sand underneath his hands, "No offense, but it's kind of hard to not feel like a third wheel when you and Ally are together."

Austin blushed at his comment, "I'm sorry I've kind of neglected you. I really didn't mean to. Ever since I met Ally my dream of becoming a famous singer has never seemed more real…"

Dez nodded in understanding and looked down at the sand he was picking on. Austin then began speaking again, "Ally is a really special friend, but she's not you. Dez, you're not just my best friend since, like, forever…you're my brother."

Dez smiled at this and Austin continued, "No one is ever going to replace you. And so what if I'm your only friend? Axe-man and Deztronaut is all that's needed for a good time." Austin held his fist out and Dez hit it as they proceeded to do their famous "What up!" handshake and they both laughed.

When their laughter seized, Austin hesitantly spoke up, "So, what are you going to do about Trish?"

Dez's smile disappeared. "I don't know. If everything she said is true maybe it really is better if we never speak again."

"Dez, you can't just run away from this forever." Austin shook his head in disagreement.

"But you didn't hear her, Austin. She was shaking. She must really hate me!" Dez shuddered just thinking about it.

Austin placed his hand on his chin and thought about all Dez had told him, about his fight with Trish and about wanting to be good friends with her. "You said she started yelling at you when you mentioned Riverbed?" Dez nodded. "Well, maybe she feels the same way."

"You think she has a crush on Riverbed, too!" Dez asked, astonished.

Austin laughed. "No. I mean, about me and Ally and you and Trish. Like, okay, Ally is her best friend, right?" Dez nodded "But now me and Ally hang out a lot, and if we really are as hard to hang out with as you say—" Austin blushed again at the third wheel comment "she started to become friends with you."

"Okay, I think I see where you're going with this…" Dez nodded. After a moment he went "Actually, no I don't. What's going on?"

Austin rolled his eyes and continued "So, when you started to hang out with Riverbed a lot, maybe she felt threatened. And you know how Trish acts when she feels threatened. Or annoyed. Or hungry. Or anything."

"He told me the alien would keep the bad dreams away." She blushed at the thought.

Ally smiled and made an audible, "Awww."

"So I hugged him…and I felt the tingly feeling again." She sighed.

"And that was the whole night."

Ally smiled again. "AWWW!"

"Ally SHH!"

It was too late. Dez and Austin had looked over and noticed them.

~a few minutes earlier~

Austin and Dez both blinked profusely, trying to gain their eyesight back from the salty wave that had covered them. Dez spit out seawater from his mouth, "Well, I'm thoroughly soaked." he quipped and shook his head like a wet dog would. Austin laughed and followed Dez's lead, both of them shaking their heads like a dog would after an unwanted bath.

Austin grinned, "Hey, we're both covered in water. WET HIGH FIVE!" they both exclaimed at the same time and then "what up(ed)."

Austin laughed at Dez and pointed at his face, "Dude, you got a little something—" he said pointing to the seaweed that had gotten stuck to his chin when the wave had splashed on them.

"What? Oh, thanks man!" Dez replied as he rubbed his chin, feeling the seaweed there and trying to get it off, only to stick another piece of seaweed that had been stuck to his hand on his chin. It now looked like Dez had a beard made of seaweed.

Dez looked confused as his best friend began to laugh hysterically but then shrugged and began to laugh along with him.

Suddenly Austin stopped, furrowing his eyebrows. He moved his head from side to side and then shook it and groaned, "Great, I think I have water stuck in my ear." He began picking at the inside of his right ear, trying to get the water out.

"Here, let me help" Dez said as he grabbed Austin's blonde head and patted the left side of his head so the water from his right ear would come out.

"Ow, ow DEZ!" Austin shrieked and pulled his head back, rubbing on his ear, "that hurt!"

Dez freaked out, "Sorry sorry sorry! Did I hurt your ears! Oh no, what if the damage is irreparable and I ruined your career and you'll never get your dream all because of me!" He grabbed Austin's head and yelled in his ear, "CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

Austin pulled away and covered his ears. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine Dez." he laughed at his friend's ridiculous tendencies. It was hard to get angry when he knew Dez cared.

"Oh man, first your cold and now this!" Dez grabbed Austin by the shoulders. "DON'T DIE ON ME, BUDDY! WHO ELSE WOULD I MAKE MOVIES WITH? WHO WOULD EXPLAIN MY JOKES? I CAN'T SHAKE HANDS WITH ANYONE ELSE, NO ONE KNOWS IT!"

"DEZ! I'm fine!" Austin put his hand on Dez's shoulders to combat the shaking. "See?" He shook his head and did his 'sup' pose. "I'm still Austin!" Dez dropped his hands and sighed in relief. Austin recovered from feeling dizzy before asking "Are you fine, though?"

Dez mumbled and crossed his arms like a pouting child "I guess maybe I can talk to Trish…"

Austin patted Dez on the shoulder. "Atta boy."

Both Austin and Dez looked over to Trish and Ally when they heard Ally's loud "Awww!" 'ing.

Dez looked down quickly when his gaze met Trish's. Austin patted his shoulder again, "Well, there she is. Go talk to her, tiger."

Dez nodded as he took in an exaggerated breath and then jumped up. He fixed his hair and straightened himself out, somehow missing his seaweed chin. Austin jumped up as well and began to walk alongside his best friend before Dez made an abrupt stop.

"You—you know what, Trish looks kinda busy taking care of Ally and her loopy ankle. See you later!" Dez exclaimed and ran the opposite way. Austin raised his eyebrows in surprise at his best friend's actions but was more surprised when he looked back to see Trish helping Ally up, whose ankle was slightly bent.

"Oh my gosh, Ally!" Austin exclaimed and rushed over to her.

Ally shot a nervous glance at Trish and saw Austin do the same to Dez. The are-we-leaving-you-alone-again glance. They both nodded, silently affirming the affections were just fine.

"What happened?" Austin asked worriedly, bending down and examining.

"I was running after Trish and I lost my footing in the sand. AKA I fell and sprained my ankle a little bit. But I'm all right, I promise." Ally patted his arm. She looked back at Trish and Dez, staring at each other silently.

Austin still looked worried, but he smiled at her. "I'm glad you're okay. Need me to carry you home toniiiiiiiight?" He sang lightheartedly, leaning on the rock next to Ally.

"That would be amazing." she smiled back warmly. "Later. Right now…" Ally coughed. "I think Trish and Dez have something to say to each other."

"We do?" Trish asked in frustration. Talking to Dez was not part of the deal! At least, it wasn't stated previously in fine print.

"Yes, you do." Ally replied sternly, giving Trish a one second glare. Trish sighed, she guessed Ally was right, it did have to be done. She looked down and away from Dez.

There was a moment of silence while Dez gave a terrified look to Austin, who smiled at his friend and made a 'go on' hand motion. He knew speaking wasn't exactly Dez's forte, especially speaking seriously to Trish. Pushed along by Austin to do the right thing, Dez took an exaggerated breath. "Er, uh, Trish. I'm really sorry about that thing. I mean, you know, that thing I said about Cal." Dez fiddled with his thumbs, as even though he was being completely genuine, the words he stammered out just sounded awkward and forced.

Ally asked Austin quietly, "Wait, what did he say about Cal?" Austin whispered in her ear. Ally's jaw dropped as she gasped. "What! Trish didn't tell me—!" she cut off her yelling as Trish and Dez both looked at her in hope, hope that they could get away with just leaving this conversation for another day or maybe never. Dez was even taking subtle steps backward. Austin gave Ally a look that said 'compose yourself.'

She laughed nervously and chewed on a strand of her wet hair, before gagging at the taste. "Sorry," she coughed, boy did salt water taste bad— "I won't let it happen again. Please continue." Trish and Dez both let out a groan.

It seemed it was Trish's turn to say something, but when she went to speak, nothing came out. She just stared at her feet. Dez was looking nervous while Austin and Ally were glaring at her.

She looked up at them and saw the glare. She took a shaky breath and spoke. "I…" she looked up at the sky. She was trying to avoid looking at Dez in every way she possibly could.

Finally she just looked right at him and noticed that he had dry streaks on his face from tears and the terrible weight set on her. She crinkled her forehead and her chin trembled. "I'm so sorry Dez…" she whispered. "I never should have called you despicable, but mostly I shouldn't have told you that my life would be better without you." Her eyes swelled, but no tears fell. She was able to compose herself.

Dez moved a little closer, hesitantly and held his hands in front of him. He looked at her with wide eyes, surprised. Before he could go on with his apology about Mindy and all that, she continued. It seemed as though once she started she truly couldn't stop.

"My life is not better without you, if anything it is better! I mean, you have been here these past few weeks and have made me feel better while Austin and Ally were busy together." Austin and Ally looked at each other and blushed, feeling bad.

"I mean, 2 nights ago, when we went to the arcade? Probably one of the best nights ever." She said, gasping for breath because the words just wouldn't stop coming out of her.

"Trish, SHH!" Dez whispered, eyes going wide.

Austin looked confused and Ally just smiled knowingly.

"I don't care Dez!" She yelled out. "I'm not embarrassed about the fact that we were hanging out." She looked down. "I even told Ally…everything." she whispered.

"Well, maybe I'm embarrassed!" Dez yelled. Trish gasped and there was a moment of silence. Ally and Austin's eyes also grew wide. Um, what? What what what? Why would he be…?

Trish swallowed and was about to release tears when Dez went "No, I'm kidding!" he laughed and a huge smile formed on his face "Why would you guys believe that? Come on, have you seen me?" He spun around, soaking wet in mismatched clothes, seaweed still stuck to his chin. He laughed some more "Oh my gosh, the looks on all your faces!" he continued to laugh heartily.

Trish attempted as best she could to suppress the smile that was forming on her lips, trying with all her will power not to let Dez win that. Unfortunately, she failed. "You. Idiot." she said happily as she walked up to him and hit him. "And get that seaweed off your face, you look stupid." she reached and tore it off. It made a sound like ripping off a band-aid.

"Ow," Dez rubbed his raw chin. Trish just crossed her arms and gave him a sideways glare. "Okay, I guess I deserved that." He laughed again. Now that everything was less tense he felt comfortable talking. "Look Trish, I'm really sorry about comparing you to Mindy, too. You are nothing like Mindy to me. At least I like spending time with you. Well, I mean, most of the time." Dez winked playfully, Trish just rolled her eyes and turned her back so he wouldn't see her blush. Austin and Ally didn't miss her pigment change, though, and they smiled at each other. "And you're way more awesome—" he chuckled nervously. "—Well, when you're in the right mood."

She smiled and turned back to face him. "Thanks—I think. And another thing, I know you want me to be happy for you and Riverbed, but I can't do that."

Dez frowned and looked at her upset, waiting for her to start yelling again or something. "But I really like her and—"

"Let me finish." She said over him. He nodded slowly. "You're my friend, so I won't lie to you and say that I am happy you are with Riverbed. However, because you like her so much I will try to be nice to her and get to know her. You never know, may she will grow on me like you did." She blushed at the last part of what she said, but smiled nonetheless.

Dez smiled a giant goofy smile and jumped up and down. "YAY! Thanks Trish!" He grabbed her in a crushing hug before she could stop him.

"Okay okay! You're crushing me!"

He let go. "I'm just so happy!"

Austin smiled at his friends and Ally smiled followed by an "Ow!" when she tried to step on her ankle.

Austin wrapped his arm under her waist and picked her up, getting a small scream from Ally.

"Team Austin is back." He smiled. "Let's get off this beach and get Ally some help for her ankle."

"Sounds good to me." Trish and Dez said at the same time. They looked at each other.

Trish coughed. "Yeah, let's not do that again."

Dez laughed. "Agreed."

~the end~

**A/N Awww, the end! This is Manager Liz here, and I apologize for any errors you see. Fizzy got out most of them, but my computer's Microsoft Word is quite a spaz, so I had to go through and edit the thing again, so I most likely missed a few things. But I hope you liked it! I did not write this; the lovely roleplayers of Sonic Boom Roleplay did! Give them a round of applause in a review? Thanks again for reading!**


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